What more is there to say about the Court of First Instance’s landmark, historic, unprecedented etc etc ruling in the Microsoft case? Quite a lot, I fear. But given the avalanche of commentary and analysis that Monday’s judgement has already attracted, I will restrict myself to just one issue.

How will - or how should - Microsoft react to its thumping defeat at the hands of the EU’s second-highest court?

The group itself will certainly take some days or weeks to study the ruling before drawing any firm conclusions, but I would not be surprised if Microsoft comes up with a rather more radical response than we are used from the slow-moving software behemoth. After Monday’s devastating defeat, "business as usual" is simply not an option.

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Relations between Microsoft and the European Commission are a bit like the weather in Brussels: sometimes better, sometimes worse, but on the whole and viewed over the year, pretty appalling.
Right now, the two sides are going through an especially dark and turbulent phase. Over the past week or so there have been public accusations, charges of foul-play, denials and other hostile activity, culminating with a harshly-worded letter by Neelie Kroes that was published in the Financial Times on Tuesday.
The trouble has all to do with Vista, Microsoft’s new personal computer operating system that is set to replace Windows at the end of this year. The Commission has voiced deep concerns, warning Microsoft repeatedly that the new system may fall foul of European competition rules.

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